Coronavirus update: Fresno hospitals nearly full as death toll grows again this week
The California Department of Public Health on Tuesday announced Fresno County added 144 new cases and seven new deaths, bringing the total case count to 38,712 and raising the death toll to 488 since the pandemic’s outbreak.
Fresno County has an average of 289 new daily cases, increasing by 10.1% from two weeks ago.
A total of 2,024 new cases were added in the past week across 32 different cities and towns countywide, with Coalinga adding the highest concentration as nearly 1,000 cases were reported daily per 100,000 residents over the past two weeks, according to state data.
As of Tuesday, there have been 23,920 recoveries countywide since the pandemic began, increasing by 555 from Monday. About 60% of all Fresno residents infected with the virus have recovered.
More than 300 COVID-19 patients remain hospitalized across Fresno County, a troubling statistic that shows hospitalizations are now approaching the summer’s peak of demand for services, which pushed hospitals close to their limits. As of Tuesday, just 12 ICU beds are still available countywide.
There are a total of 305 COVID-19 patients in Fresno County hospitals — just eight short of the peak reached at the end of July when hospitals tallied 313 patients. About 45 of the currently hospitalized patients remain in the ICU as of Tuesday, while an additional 30 patients are suspected of having the virus.
COVID-19 cases in California’s Central Valley
A total of 797 new cases were reported valleywide on Tuesday. The total number of infections in the six-county region surpassed 90,000, totaling 90,338 cases. Of those, 1,160 have lost their lives to the disease.
As of Tuesday, 52 of California’s 58 counties, including five of the six central San Joaquin Valley counties, are now in the most restrictive tier of California’s reopening plan, sitting in the purple Tier 1.
Mariposa County is the only one in the Valley region outside the purple tier, remaining in the red tier 2 as of Tuesday.
California on the brink of 100,000 coronavirus hospitalizations
With COVID-19 cases quickly mounting to new highs, California is now on the brink of reaching 9,000 hospitalizations statewide, tallying to 8,240 confirmed patients, a startling 100% increase from two weeks ago. The state on Sunday became the first to add more than 100,000 cases in a week, according to The New York Times.
There are nearly 1.3 million cases statewide as of Tuesday, as 16,765 new cases were added. The number of people whose lives were taken due to the virus has reached 19,330, increasing by 116 as of Tuesday. California is now averaging about 64 deaths a week.
About 12% of all COVID-19 positive residents statewide end up in the hospital.
As the case count has increased in recent weeks, businesses across the state have been forced to shut down some operations again, putting a financial strain on the economy. That’s why California on Tuesday announced it is launching a new tax relief program for business owners financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Businesses in need of help can receive immediate tax relief in the form of automatic filing extensions, interest-free payment plans, or a hiring tax credit of up to $100,000 to offset income or sales and use taxes, according to state officials.
Latest COVID-19 case numbers in the U.S.
With an average of 161,228 new daily cases over the past week, the U.S. is near the edge of reaching 14 million cases nationwide. On Tuesday, 181,174 new cases were added across the country, while an additional 2,607 people have died.
There are now 13.7 million or 13,799,200 people in the United States that have been infected, and at least 270,600 have died as of Tuesday, The New York Times reports. Nationwide, the U.S. is near reaching 100,000 total hospitalizations for the first time, according to the Covid Tracking Project database.
The United Kingdom on Wednesday was the first western country to approve an emergency authorization of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s vaccine after the company reported last week that the drug was more than 90% effective at protecting participants from contracting the virus.
The move has put pressure on the U.S. to expedite the approval process, as White House officials have already been frustrated with the delay in authorizing the first round of vaccinations.
The Federal Drug and Food Administration is scheduled to meet on Dec. 10 to vote on granting Pfizer emergency authorization.